Publications 2010 – 2019 – Forest Ecology and Conservation Group

Latitudinal gradients as natural laboratories to infer species’ responses to temperature

Latitudinal gradients provide a methodological set-up to overcome the drawbacks of other observational and experimental warming methods. Our synthesis indicates that many life-history traits of plants vary with latitude but the translation of latitudinal clines into responses to temperature is a crucial step. De Frenne, P. et al. 2013 PDF
A novel comparative research platform designed to determine the functional significance of tree species diversity in European forests

Here we present the design and implementation of a new network of forest plots along tree species diversity gradients in six major European forest types: the FunDivEUROPE Exploratory Platform. Baeten, L. et al. 2013 PDF
Carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems: do browsing and grazing herbivores matter?

Evaluation of the effect on plant biomass consumption of large mammalian herbivores (>10 kg adult biomass), and the responses of carbon stocks in temperate and tropical ecosystems, and the Arctic. Tanentzap, A.J.; Coomes, D.A. 2012 PDF
Use of an Airborne Lidar System to Model Plant Species Composition and Diversity of Mediterranean Oak Forests

An examination of whether different aspects of plant species diversity and composition can be related to vegetation structure using airborne lidar as a remote-sensing tool to characterize three-dimensional vegetation structure for Mediterranean oak forests in southern Portugal. SIMONSON, W.D.; ALLEN, H.D.; COOMES; D.A. 2012 PDF
Testing the metabolic theory of ecology

An argument that critical evaluation of MTE also requires strong tests of both its theoretical foundations and simplifying assumptions. To this end, we synthesise available information and find that MTE’s original derivations require additional assumptions to obtain the full scope of attendant predictions. Price, C.A. et al. 2012 PDF
Predictable changes in above ground allometry of trees along gradients of temperature, aridity and competition

Using data from 700,000 trees of 26 species, we quantify how environmental conditions influence the scaling of height and crown diameter (CD) with stem diameter (d.b.h.). Lines, E.R.; Zavala, M.A.; Purves, D.W.; Coomes, D.A. 2010 PDF
Competitive interactions between forest trees are driven by species’ trait hierarchy, not phylogenetic or functional similarity: implications for forest community assembly

Using growth data, we estimated 275 interaction coefficients between tree species in the French mountains. We show that interaction strengths are mainly driven by trait hierarchy and not by functional or phylogenetic similarity. Kunstler, G.; Lavergne, S.; Courbaud, B.; Thuiller, W.; Vieilledent, G.; Zimmermann, N.E.; Kattge, J.; Coomes D.A. 2012 PDF
Optical and SAR sensor synergies for forest and land cover mapping in a tropical site in West Africa

Classification of a study area in West Africa we integrated the optical sensors Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radio meter type 2 (AVNIR-2) with the Phased Arrayed L-band SAR (PALSAR) sensor, the latter two on-board the Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS), using traditional Maximum Likelihood (MLC) and Neural Networks…
Impacts of culling and exclusion of browsers on vegetation recovery across New Zealand forests

Investigating whether culling of ungulates has allowed populations of woody plant species to recover across New Zealand forests. Wright, D.M.; Tanentzap, A.J.; Flores, O.; Husheer S.W.; Duncan, R.P.; Wiser, S.K.; Coomes, D.A. 2012 PDF